Islamorada, a "Village of Islands," is an
incorporated village in
Monroe County,
Florida,
United States. It is located on the
islands of
Tea Table Key,
Lower Matecumbe Key,
Upper Matecumbe Key,
Windley Key and
Plantation Key in the
Florida Keys.
The village was incorporated on November 4, 1997. Prior to this date, Islamorada was only considered to be on the island of
Upper Matecumbe Key.
As of the 2010
census, the village had a total
population of 6,119. As of 2009, the population recorded by the
U.S. Census Bureau is 6,435.
The name
Islamorada, meaning "purple island", came from early
Spanish explorers in the area. Its pronunciation has been Anglicized to
aisle-a-more-AH-dah.
Islamorada was hit almost directly by the
Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, causing 423 deaths. A memorial, including the ashes of over 300 victims, exists today at Overseas Highway mile marker 82.
Hall of Fame baseball player
Ted Williams began visiting Islamorada in 1943 and for the next 45 years was the island's most well known resident. After his retirement from baseball he became the national spokesman for
Sears sporting goods and became renowned for his abilities as a
fisherman. Over the decades, he hosted numerous celebrities at his Islamorada house and took them on local fishing trips. Williams’ residency in Islamorada ended in 1988 when he moved to
Hernando, Florida. Williams cited the island’s increased development as his reason for leaving. He reportedly said that he knew it was time to leave when he could no longer make a left turn on to
U.S. Route 1 because of the traffic.